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Ford Announces Release of SYNC 3 Emulator

For those looking to build mobile apps for the automotive world, this is a very big deal! The Ford SYNC 3 AppLink Emulator helps developers create mobile apps for Ford vehicles that are equipped with the SYNC 3 infotainment system. The emulator allows a smartphone to connect to the developer’s workstation as though it would normally connect with SYNC 3. From there, developers can accurately build their apps and see exactly how their app will function in a SYNC 3 vehicle. This new capability, released free by Ford, will dramatically speed the development, testing and deployment times for new apps coming soon to Ford vehicles.

As i2Integration provides the technology support of the Ford Developer Program, including website, mobile apps, global hosting and data integration, we see the release of the SYNC 3 Emulator as a powerful addition to bringing new developers to the Program. With more than 15 million SYNC-equipped vehicles on the road globally (and 43 million expected by 2020), that’s a tremendous amount of potential for the mobile developer market.

For Ford and i2, it's exciting times ahead.

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i2 Develops New Mobile App for Ford

i2Integration has been helping mobile developers create and deploy apps to Ford vehicles for years. Now i2Integration is using the same Ford Developer Program tools and resources they created to build an in-car app for Ford. With it, the Ford App Catalog will soon allow millions of customers with Ford SYNC3 vehicles to discover, download and install new apps through their Ford infotainment system.

According to Technical Solutions Manager Deb Babbitt, Ford drivers will be able to use voice commands to find out which of their mobile apps work with SYNC. Better yet, the Ford App Catalog will be able to tell them proactively, highlighting available apps with customizable in-car push notifications.

Babbitt said the new App of the Month feature in the Ford App Catalog will give Ford the ability to promote different partner apps on different mobile platforms and in different countries—so iOS users in Germany could see a different promoted app than German Android users, or French iOS users.

This new visibility adds great value for developers, for Ford and for users themselves. But drivers' eyes should be on the road, so there's another new feature that keeps drivers' focus where it needs to be.

"Ford safety guidelines won't allow you to download an app while you're driving, so there's a safety concept we created called the Wish List," Babbitt said. "So, if you're notified of the App of the Month and you like it but you're driving, it won't allow you to download it—but it will put it in your Wish List. When you leave the vehicle, it will remind you that you liked this app and you may want to download it."

Enabling the App Catalog inside the vehicle has long been a goal of the Ford Developer Program. With the capability of SYNC3 and the rapidly increasing number of Ford vehicles equipped with them, the time was right for i2Integration to fully integrate (pun intended!) themselves into the connected car.

"For years now, we’ve been building the tools to allow developers to build apps that operate in Ford vehicles," i2Integration CEO John Forsberg said. "With our latest project of allowing the Ford App Catalog to operate in the Ford vehicle, we’re now in the very cool and unique position of being on the other side of the fence–of being the very developers we support. Or maybe a better way of saying it is that we’re now on both sides of the fence, which will give us the ideal insight to make both sides even better."

Automaker Partners with i2Integration on Mobile App Integration

i2Integration is helping Ford Motor Co. expand the connected car on a global scale, and setting the stage for a growing presence in developer program creation and management.

As the technology company behind the digital assets in the Ford Developer Program, the Lansing-based web and application developer is playing a key role in establishing the Detroit automaker as the leader in integrating mobile apps with vehicles.

i2Integration provides technology support for both developer and consumer facing resources within the Ford Developer Program for AppLink which is the Ford product built upon the open-source SmartDeviceLink (SDL) platform.

"Other automakers are picking up Ford's open source architecture," said Scott Burnell, who heads the Ford program. "This is a brand-new world for a very old industry, and it's going to grow -- exponentially.”

Right now, some 15,000 developers are part of the FordDev Program, from Pandora and Major League Baseball to one-person shops that span nearly 100 countries.

"What we really like about having i2Integration on board is, we’re a global company but we're still where the entire automotive industry began, in Michigan," Burnell said. "It's great to have a Michigan company working alongside us that can work at a global level."

For i2Integration, that global capability includes developing, establishing and managing systems, content and mobile apps for the development program in key locations worldwide, with each installation tailored for speed, reliability and accessibility.

“Our team is at the forefront of what is truly a transformation of the automotive and mobile app industries and the growth of the 'Internet of Things,'" said John Forsberg, CEO of i2Integration. “We're proud to be a key component in Ford’s lead in that transformation.

“There's also a real and growing need for industries to integrate their products with independent mobile app developers worldwide, whether that's retail, automotive, b2b or healthcare. i2Integration is perfectly positioned to support that need, and that is extremely exciting for us.”

If you want to inspire developers to innovate on your platform, an SDK isn't enough.

Hardware without software is an expensive rock, and an application platform without developers isn't much more useful. But it's difficult to attract and maintain robust developer support when today's connected world is flooded with opportunities to create apps.

No matter how compelling the technology, an SDK just isn't enough.

Scott Burnell recently talked with i2Integration about the importance of a developer ecosystem. The Global Lead, Business Development & Partner Management for the Ford Developer Program explained why the i2Integration-supported Developer Portal, App Catalog and other features have been crucial to his team's success.

"A developer ecosystem is really a true ecosystem," he said, "in that it has a number of different components that all hold together different areas of developer needs. It gives them that ability to take an idea all the way through fruition, into an actual product."

Burnell cited the strong tool set as a key feature for developer empowerment; members of the Ford Developer Program have access to information, personnel, traditional assets such as SDKs and developer guides, and extensive support.

A lot of the feedback he hears from developers is how helpful the ecosystem is for getting started.

"Whether you're building software, enabling things to talk to each other over IoT, or just brainstorming and creating brand new products," Burnell said, the big question is, what's Step One? "So, really having a good base and a good jumping-off point, where you can give the background to developers, they're very appreciative of that."

Better yet, developers tell his team that they love being able to count on information and resources being continuously updated and maintained.

They don't want to go looking for an answer for an issue that they're having, or a hurdle that they can't quite get over, and see material that was placed on the website three or four years ago," Burnell said. "They want to have the most up-to-date and pertinent information so they can actually get the answer they're looking for."

One of the most important drivers of developer engagement is the human component. When support and guidance is available via phone, email, Slack, blog posts or even in-person events, the trust factor is much stronger.

But how important can a developer ecosystem be to actually attracting developers and maintaining their engagement? Can i2Integration's services really be a powerful driver of third-party application support?

"It's been the backbone of the Ford Developer Program," Burnell said. "A commercial-facing, end-user facing asset like a developer site is invaluable. One of the whole reasons we spun up the developer site and made it a big component is simply the number of man-hours it takes. I mean, the world's a big place, and we don't have a really big team."

For Burnell, overseeing platform developments across several continents means it's vital that developer resources—tools, downloads, support systems that aren't just based out of one office—are available worldwide, 24/7, to cater to the needs of all developers.

"The impact is obviously seen on the number of developers we have who are still joining the program, and those who have stayed around and are still active," Burnell said. "The fact that we have about 20,000 developers inside the ecosystem that i2Integration has helped Ford build is a good testament that the material we provide, the resources we provide are what the developers are looking for."

Of course, the end goal is application support—and Burnell is more than pleased with the ideas and products inspired and supported by the developer ecosystem, which currently has launched about 120 apps around the world.

"In the automotive world, if you combine all of the apps that have been launched from all the other OEMs globally, it doesn't even come close to what we've done," he said.

And, Burnell said, there's more to come. "I think the updates that we've been working on, to the tools, and the developer site itself, are really going to impress the developer community. It's going to make things easier for them, actually increase their capability to get content directly into Ford—and we're also expanding that across into the world of SDL and the open source connectivity system that we're a part of. i2Integration is integral in pulling that together so we can have those systems talk to each other as well."

Burnell believes the impact of i2Integration's services and features can be felt all the way inside the vehicle—in user experience itself.

"I think because we've stayed on top of the tools and the messaging, and really because we've stayed in front of the developers, as we've grown the capabilities in-vehicle—from the original SYNC with the two-line dot-matrix display, to SYNC3 now with the nice color display, with touchscreen, pinch-and-zoom capabilities, with the voice capabilities that we've got now—we've had a pretty good seamless evolution inside the vehicle."

Updates, changes and new features have been rolled out to developers, sometimes even before their commercial launch. The smooth rollout of the SYNC3 platform is a prime example.

"As the vehicles roll off, there were apps that were already capable of working with that new interface," Burnell said. "It's been a very important tool to be able to make sure our owners have the best applications and components that are working with the new hardware and software that we're putting in the vehicles."

Geofencing: putting location and the internet to practical use

What the heck is geofencing?

Geofencing is the use of GPS satellites, Bluetooth or WiFi to create a virtual boundary around a specific location from which you can trigger an event for your mobile device. That device might be a car, a phone or any other type of connected device. These days even mattresses (insanely) are connected devices!

Here’s a quick example of geofencing: As you drive home from work, your phone reminds you to pick up a gallon of milk as you drive by the grocery store. For iPhone users, this can be done via the Reminder App.
Implementing geofencing application used to be an expensive endeavor. Not anymore. Now, the hardware and application software costs have made geofencing available to everyone, whether that’s a business or a single individual.

For your organization, the possibilities are endless:

Automotive (Connected Cars)

Soon, instead of an annoying beep that your gas is low or when it's time for an oil change, your car will tell you where you can actually get gas or an oil change based on your regular commute and which places have the best deals. FYI, this “connected car” functionality happens to tie directly to our experience in developing and supporting Ford Motor Company’s connected car program. It’s an exciting time to be in technology for the automotive industry.

Internet of Things (Smarthome)

Today there are connected devices such as the Nest smart thermostat. Right now, Nest can determine when you are at home and adjust the temperature accordingly. But with geofencing, you can take that further. Soon you can have your cell phone “talk” to the thermostat as you drive home, and based on how far away you are, automatically start warming the house for your arrival.

Industrial Internet of Things (Manufacturing)

Here’s an example of how geofencing can save manufacturing thousands (or more): Say you have a product that requires First In, First Out. If the product doesn’t ship quickly, quality and cost suffer. With RFID chips and geofencing, the company can now be flagged when a product is nearing its critical delivery date and clear the flag automatically once it’s left the plant.

For those of us at i2, geofencing is like the ultimate “if/then” application. If something is here, then do this. Or, if something is not here, then do that. For 20+ years, those kinds of questions have resided solely within code on a server or workstation. Now, with geofencing, the doors are open and the opportunities are (literally) anywhere you want them to be. Pretty cool.

Yep, it’s geek humor. But the joke also points out (to both the technical and non-technical) how using Agile and Scrum turns a chaotic and disorganized development project into a streamlined, efficient and effective way to get things done. For that reason, I’m also a big fan of Agile development and Scrum.

So, what is Agile development and Scrum?

Perhaps the best way to describe them is to first say what they are not. In a traditional (what is a “waterfall”) project methodology, the flow of the project goes something like this:

Requirements analysis… then Design… then Code… then Integration… then Test… then Deploy.

In large projects, the waterfall method can be difficult as essentially you’re building the entire product/website, etc. in the hope that you have gathered every requirement and anticipated every pitfall beforehand. That’s not only difficult with some projects, it may be entirely impossible.

Agile and Scrum looks at the project differently. Rather than building the entire project before putting it out there for review, with Agile and Scrum, you develop the project collaboratively during intensive "sprints" of work. Each sprint is designed to release a finished version of the project. From there you analyze, review, adapt and plan for the next sprint for the next version project release. Keep in mind that the project can be a web application, a website, a mobile app, etc.

So, why use Agile and Scrum?

If this sounds familiar: “Yep, that’s how we thought it’s supposed to work, but now that I actually see it… we can’t do it that way.”

With traditional development methodologies, that fact might not be discovered until the very end of the overall project and will surely result in big changes, big additional costs and loss of time. With Agile and Scrum, those questions are touched on immediately during each development “sprint” and then adjusted to accordingly.

In the end, Agile and Scrum can save vast amounts of time, budget and reduce project risk, not to mention produce a far superior end product.

The results are in for the ORGPRO 2017 mobile app! i2Integration - the creator of the event mobile app found:

69%: of event attendees registered on the mobile app

12,882: mobile app views during ORGPRO 2017

Exhibitor Bingo: The #2 most viewed featured on the app (even ahead of the Agenda listing!)

63%: the percentage of iOS users versus Android users

"Our members were comfortable using the app to select their sessions, locate the rooms for those sessions, and use the gamification feature to meet sponsors. As an added benefit, we were able to reduce the amount of paper distributed and wasted during the event. Thank you i2Ingegration for creating an app that made MSAE shine. I know you will do so for our members too."
- Cheryl Ronk, CAE, CMP, President, Michigan Society of Association Executives

From a laptop in the lobby or a cell phone in the coat room - quite literally the day of the event - you can modify content that will be instantly distributed out to your apps for Apple and Android phones using with the recent release of i2Integration's new generation of mobile apps for associations. Just as important: you don't need to be a computer geek. If you know how to use Microsoft Word, you're set.

For more information about i2Integration's mobile event app, click here.

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